Desert Landscapes Day and Night

Death Valley is a truly unique National Park. It features the lowest, driest and hottest locations in North America and is surrounded by mountains that rise to over 11,000 feet. Covering about 3,000 square miles, it’s larger than Yellowstone, yet most photography workshops barely scratch the surface of what this park has to offer.

This is a unique opportunity to visit and photograph great locations during the best light. We’ll have a night at Furnace Creek Ranch, where everyone will have time learn some very important lessons about their cameras, and post processing before heading out into the remote and unique landscapes in Death Valley: the Eureka Valley Dunes and the Racetrack Playa. Here, we’ve arranged for our team of outfitters to set up camp, tents, food, campfire and more. After our two nights in the wild, we’ll be back at Furnace Creek Ranch for two more days and nights where we’ll be visiting some of the classic parts of Death Valley, such as Golden Canyon, Dantes View, Badwater Basin and more!

This is a unique opportunity to be part of a very small group (only six guests), photograph some of the amazing beauty of the desert southwest, and shoot the night skies. Yes, we will have nearly zero moon during our workshop, so we will be photographing the Milky Way over beautiful scenes and shooting star trails and teaching other astrophotography techniques.

We will provide transportation to and from the remote camp locations in Jeeps. We will carpool to and from the photography locations around Furnace Creek.

Muench Workshops, LLC works closely with the National Park Service and operates under a Commercial Use Authorization. We always carry proper permits, insurance and certification.

To be able to take the photograph of a lifetime was an experience that I will never forget. As if that wasn’t enough, I picked up some extra tips in the field and in post processing that have helped me turn the photograph into an amazing piece of artwork. I will forever be grateful to Muench Workshops for making one of my photography dreams come true.

— Joe Filer, Canadian Rockies '14

Itinerary and General Information

March 23, 2017: 3:00pm, check in at Furnace Creek Ranch. 4:00 PM we will meet as a group, make introductions and get going for our sunset shoot at Badwater Basin. Dinner follows and then night sky photography.

March 24, 2017: Sunrise shoot at one of several favorite locations in the park, followed by breakfast. We'll organize their camping duffle, check out, and meet up for packing into the jeeps. We will then begin our driving safari north through the Death Valley road, which passes by some of the more remote regions of the park, including many massive desert alluvial fans, Crankshaft mine and more. We arrive at our Eureka Valley camp in the early afternoon. We will have access to the largest sand dunes in all of Death Valley for both sunset and sunrise light. Our camp will be fully outfitted with plenty of hot and cold drinks for whatever weather we encounter. Our outfitter is fully qualified for this type of service, we have worked with them for now three years in Death Valley. We'll shoot sunset around the dunes and then after a nice hot meal under the stars we will have the incredible opportunity to photograph one of the most “light pollution free” skies in all of the country. If the sky is clear we will be up during the night quite a lot to photograph the Milky Way rising out of the dunes!

March 25, 2017: Sunrise shoot at Eureka Dunes. After an amazing camp breakfast we will leave our Eureka camp and drive the jeeps to the Racetrack Playa. On the way we will have time to explore an old gold mine, Joshua Tree forest and finally the famous Grandstand at the playa. Our outfitter will move camp and meet us near the Racetrack for another night under the stars. With hopefully clear skies, we will shoot the sailing stones under the stars!

March 26, 2017: Sunrise shoot on the Racetrack Playa followed by a hot breakfast in camp. After breakfast we will say goodbye to our outfitters and head back to Furnace Creek Ranch for showers and much needed rest! Sunset shoot at Zabriskie Point. We will then meet in our private room for image reviews and critique over dinner.

March 27, 2017: Sunrise shoot at Mesquite Dunes, followed by breakfast. Downtime and downloading of images, with another image review and critique session this afternoon. Sunset location TBD, followed by dinner at Furnace Creek Inn. Night photography follows.

March 28, 2017: Sunrise shoot at Cottonball Basin, followed by breakfast and goodbyes. Workshop concludes.

What’s Included

Double occupancy lodging (Single available, just ask)

All meals during the workshop

Some transportation during the workshop

Photographic guiding and instruction

Image reviews and post-processing instruction

Fun, inspiration and a great time!

What’s Not Included?

Transportation to and from Furnace Creek, California. Travel and trip insurance. Items of a personal nature. Alcoholic beverages. Tips for the camp outfitters. Anything not specifically listed as included.

Payment Terms

Your deposit of $2,500 is due at signup and will hold your space in the workshop. The balance of $2,000 is due by January 15, 2017.

Additional Information

Travel: Flights are in and out of Las Vegas, Nevada (LAS). Furnace Creek Ranch is an approximately 2.5 hour drive from Las Vegas. Arrive at Furnace Creek not later than 3:00 PM on March 23, 2017. Flights home or elsewhere can be anytime after 2:00 PM on March 28, 2017.

Gallery

Muench Workshops offers personal instruction and an all-inclusive experience so you can focus on your photography. Founded in 2007, we collaborate with the best pros and local guides to offer the ultimate learning environment for landscape and wildlife photographers, so you can best capture our beautiful planet.